pressing flowers
by great gospel
Summary: The hue of her ribbon is the prettiest shade he's ever seen, so bids her to wear the colour always; even long after he's gone, she dons her pink dress like rose dust–coated armour, for he is protecting her still. — four years, twenty-three wishes, eight-nine letters, a thousand gunmen, and [fifty sentences for two heroes]


**Word Count** : 2,174

 **Timeline/Spoilers** : set throughout the compilation w/ some AUs; potential spoilers for og, cc, and ac/acc

 **Summary** : The hue of her ribbon is the prettiest shade he's ever seen, so bids her to wear the colour always; even long after he's gone, she dons her pink dress like rose dust–coated armour, for he is protecting her still. / four years, twenty-three wishes, eight-nine letters, a thousand gunmen, and [fifty sentences for two heroes]

 **Notes** : This was written using theme set 'Epsilon' from the livejournal community 1sentence. Forgive me for the excessive (and incorrect) use of semicolons and run–on sentences.

Title comes from song of the same name by The Civil Wars, and the lyrics are from _Angels on the Moon_ by Thriving Ivory.

* * *

 _don't tell me if I'm dying_

' _cause I don't wanna know_

 _if I can't see the sun, maybe I should go_

 _don't wake me if I'm dreaming_

 _of angels on the moon_

 _where everyone you know_

 _never leaves too soon_

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 **#01 – Motion**

Suddenly, the doors of her church burst open to reveal a familiar figure, whose paltry attempts at that same boyish smile don't quite meet those mako-infused eyes, and he's broken, bruised, and _years_ too late, but all it takes is seconds for them to be in one another's arms again.

 **#02 – Cool**

His suave attempts at impressing her were, needless to say, ruined when he tripped over some potted plants and landed face-first into the soil, but her bright, tinkling laughter was almost worth it; almost.

 **#03 – Young**

Angeal deals his mentee the nickname 'puppy' partly out of affection and partly out of exasperation; though he showed skill and battle prowess beyond his years, his childlike eagerness and excitement made Zack's actual age all too clear to the older man; he was young, far too young to be fighting these battles, and nothing disturbed Angeal like the thought that his brave, capable pup might not go on to see old age.

 **#04 – Last**

If it's of any consolation, his final thoughts were of you, darling.

 **#05 – Wrong**

The rain comes down hard, drenching his already bloodied and battered body, as a new man goes sauntering off with _his_ sword and _his_ memories, and it's hardly fair, but that's life, my dear.

 **#06 – Gentle**

It's all a blur as she is lowered into the water and sinks to the bottom of the lake in her people's forgotten capital because soon, there's a gloved hand bathed in otherworldly light reaching towards her; and she grasps it.

 **#07 – One**

Sure, he's been known to flirt from time to time, and his natural charm has won over many a heart (albeit unintentionally), but the minute he meets Aerith, he is enraptured, body and soul; no one can say that Zack Fair isn't a one-woman man.

 **#08 – Thousand**

There's a relentless pang in her chest at the thought of his tattered form, riddled with bullets after being gunned down by a thousand of his would-be ( _should_ -be) comrades, and left to die in a pool of his own blood; he was a hero, and _oh gods_ , he deserved so much more.

 **#09 – King**

He can't help but muse over their fairy tale first meeting – waking up in a bed of flowers after being roused from his slumber by the sweet voice of a heavenly creature (nix the crashing through her roof part, of course).

 **#10 – Learn**

Elmyra had warned her not to get too attached, but Aerith, bless her soul, was too naïve for her own good; while she liked him well enough, she knew that boy with his soldier swagger would one day end up a just name on a list called 'Lessons Learned' for her dear, sweet daughter.

 **#11 – Blur**

Perhaps fifteen is too soon to be picturing your life together with someone, and maybe seventeen is no better, but then all of a sudden, you're twenty-two and wondering where all the years went.

 **#12 – Wait**

He finds it nothing short of cruel that she waited years upon years for his return, but all it took was mere months for her to join him in the lifestream.

 **#13 – Change**

No one can fault her for attempting to move on, but of course it had to be the man who looked and moved the same way he did that she'd set her sights on, even going so far as to share his memories.

 **#14 – Command**

He realizes that his time spent away from her long outspans their far too brief romance, but there's a stirring in his chest that's pointing him home, and something in him just knows that she's still waiting.

 **#15 – Hold**

She is ready to burst into tears at the sight of him again, after so many years, but there are no tears in _this_ place, only a shared glance of love and understanding and a long-awaited embrace.

 **#16 – Need**

With Shinra going to shit and him being shipped off for a mission on another continent, Zack knows Tseng is the only one he can trust to look after Aerith; if only he knew how hard the Turk had tried to ensure _his_ safety as well.

 **#17 – Vision**

Despite her protests, he does not believe he was mistaken when he awoke and proclaimed there was an angel before him all those years ago; gods, she was a vision to behold.

 **#18 – Attention**

Watching from the Lifestream, he silently urges her to move on and find happiness again, but deep in his gut the more visceral part of him is crying out, _"Please don't forget me."_

 **#19 – Soul**

Kunsel grins widely at his oblivious friend's love-struck expression as he takes another swing at him during their sparring match; he's not sure if he believes in soulmates (not in a world like this), but he's certain that Zack's found the closest thing there is in his flower girl from the slums (but the power of true love won't save him from Kunsel's quick jabs).

 **#20 – Picture**

It's been too long, and his voice is fading from her memory; his rich, cheery laughter won't grace her ears again, and his beautiful smile won't make her heart flutter, only wound it further; she doesn't even have a photo to remember him by.

 **#21 – Fool**

"When I told you that you were my living legacy, I didn't mean for you to take it so literally there, Spike," he muttered with a teasing grin and an expression that read 'oh well, what can you do?'

 **#22 – Mad**

He was beyond mad, he was downright pissed that after four years in a tube and another year spent on the run with his barely conscious best friend, that the company they'd devoted their lives had sent an entire blockade to take him out, when he was just miles away from his home and lady love; so forgive him if he was a little rougher on those boys (just boys! like he had been) than he should have been; forgive him, because he won't be forgiving you.

 **#23 – Child**

They'd been far too young at the time to entertain the thoughts of settling down and having a family together, but now, in his extended absence and as she's busy crossing continents, her mind is swimming with visions of a child with silky, brown tresses and bright, blue eyes that she knows can never see the light of day.

 **#24 – Now**

In the aftermath, Tseng paces up to the edge of a cliff and waits for a powerful gust of wind to sweep the bundle letters away, irrationally, uncharacteristically thinking that perhaps now they could finally reach him, wherever he was.

 **#25 – Shadow**

Some days, the thought of him is like an old memory, one that she can't be sure ever even occurred or is just the remnant of a half-dreamed, restless night; other times, his essence is so real it's suffocating, stealing the breath from her lungs and the beat from her heart; (Zack never was one to do things halfway.)

 **#26 – Goodbye**

She doesn't know if she feels worse or better off that there was no final goodbye between them ("I'll see you, I promise."); no finality, no closure.

 **#27 – Hide**

It hurts less to pretend she doesn't know, to act as if she didn't feel the exact moment his life force faded away, and to play the jilted lover instead; anything is easier than facing the truth of his demise.

 **#28 – Fortune**

Cloud wonders how different things might have been if Zack had introduced him to Aerith all those years ago, like he always meant to; so many tragedies could have been avoided, but he knows luck has never been on his side.

 **#29 – Safe**

The hue of her ribbon is the prettiest shade he's ever seen, so he bids her to wear the colour always; even long after he's gone, she dons her pink dress like rose dust-coated armour, for he is protecting her still.

 **#30 – Ghost**

Without warning, there's a man crashing through her roof, and her heart swells with wonder that quickly fades into jaded disappointment as her eyes rake over the first-class SOLDIER uniform, the Buster Sword, and finally, the decidedly not black, but blonde, spikes that adorn the sleeping figure.

 **#31 – Book**

He went against Sephiroth with her 23 tiny, little wishes tucked against his chest, and he died with her 89th and final letter in that very same breast pocket.

 **#32 – Eye**

There's no hand to hold the first time she ventures above the plate, and she's brought a handbasket in lieu of the unfinished wagon she can no longer bear to look at (for practicality's sake, she swears up and down), but a tiny gasp escapes her as she stares up to see the sky for the first time; all she can see is the exact shade of his eyes.

 **#33 – Never**

Cid promises her a ride on an airship, just as Zack vowed to show her the sky, but both plans fell through; it seems that the Cetra, the people of the planet, were never meant to leave the ground.

 **#34 – Sing**

She doesn't so much as stir when she wakes to him whispering a gentle lullaby from his hometown in her ears, instead focused on tucking away this precious memory in the folds of her heart.

 **#35 – Sudden**

The name stuns both Tifa and Aerith into silence, and even Yuffie's head pops up at the mention of him; whoever this guy was, he'd left behind a family and a trail of broken hearts, and he'd have to answer for them, Cloud decided.

 **#36 – Stop**

By letter 13, her momentum is slackening; letter 34, hope is waning; letter 67 feels futile, only pure stubbornness pushing her on; with letter 81, a new desperation sets in, but letter 89, she knows, will be the final.

 **#37 – Time**

Despite what the silly chocobo-head might think, Zack doesn't regret a minute of saving his friend's ass and perishing for their freedom, and he'd do it all again if he had to; he only wishes he'd spent more time with those who mattered; maybe then the blood in his mouth wouldn't taste so bitter.

 **#38 – Wash**

In the end, Tifa was right – she had never wanted to die for the Planet (though she'd do it again in a heartbeat); there was too much still to do and see now that there was nothing but open sky above her head, and her thoughts are on the family she was going to see the world with, even as the sharp pain in her belly washes over her senses.

 **#39 – Torn**

They were young and enamored, with a lifetime ahead of the two of them, but fate somehow saw it fit to tear them apart and cut both of their journeys short.

 **#40 – History**

He called _her_ an angel, but _he_ was the one who fell from the heavens, with the sky in his eyes and the future in his palms.

 **#41 – Power**

While she once feared SOLDIERs and their affinity for combat, Aerith knows that Zack's strength was only ever gained to protect; and she loves him for it.

 **#42 – Bother**

He recalls most fondly the lazy mornings spent in bed, draped across one another, with no work to drag him away from the sleeping beauty in his arms.

 **#43 – God**

If he's being honest with himself, he's not sure what he believes in; after what he's been through gods and angels and greater forces at work don't hold much appeal, but _oh_ , does he believe in her.

 **#44 – Wall**

He clings to his SOLDIER pride like a lifeline as he makes his final stand, pointedly pushing the image of sweet smiling flower girl out of his mind (never mind the fact that he crossed continents and walked into his own death just to be surrounded by her essence again); thoughts of her only sting when he sees the wall of gunmen posed against him, because somehow he knows he won't be making it home, First Class or not.

 **#45 – Naked**

Zack was always known to be rather expressive, comically so, but the naked adoration in his eyes was something else entirely.

 **#46 – Drive**

He'd been dreaming big since he was a child, grand visions of heroics and valiant battle leading him to where he was now, but she had always been much simpler, with her tiny, little wishes driving her forward; (more time spent with him felt like a simple enough request, but the gods had chosen that moment to turn their backs on her; Aerith doesn't forget).

 **#47 – Harm**

In the face of senseless wars, kills racked up to the thousands, and misguided senses of heroism, loving her was the one thing you ever did right.

 **#48 – Precious**

The first time is almost like an accident; she pops up behind him and deposits a dainty flower crown on his head, grin stretched so wide her cheeks are beginning to hurt, but then he turns around and envelopes her in his strong arms and laughs out an "I love you"; and it's the most beautiful sound she's ever heard.

 **#49 – Hunger**

Hard at work in her makeshift garden, his stomach lets out a ferocious roar, and she can't help but burst out into peals of laughter at his tinted cheeks and bashful grin; _'This_ ,' she thinks, ' _is how it always should be.'_

 **#50 – Believe**

The Buster Sword has been laid to rest in her church, and there are flowers blooming on his gravesite; and Cloud swears he hears their warm laughter echoing from the Lifestream _("You see? Everything's…alright")._

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 _and show me where you run to_

 _when no one's left to take your side_

 _but don't tell me where the road ends_

' _cause I just don't wanna know_

 _no, I don't wanna know_

* * *

 **A/N** : My first FFVII fic; I hope you all enjoyed! I wish I could have somehow fit Cissnei and more of Kunsel (and CC-Sephiroth) into this, but it didn't work out that way. Otherwise, I'm actually quite happy with this one, so please let me know what you guys thought (it's okay if you disagree haha). Please don't favourite without reviewing! Anything at all is much appreciated, whether it's just "I liked this" or you tell me your favourite parts or whatever. Thanks. :)


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